The invention provides a sound muffling cup into which an enraged person can shout to release tension while at the same time avoiding disturbing other persons.
It is a fact of life that many people in a state of anger shout, often at children, a spouse, a dog, etc. with the motivation being not to communicate, but rather mere anger. Where the cause is anger, and the aim is not communication, I have found that a sound muffling cup into which the angered person can shout, is very effective in that the shouting still releases the anger, disturbing of other persons is avoided. Also, the use of the cup may result in avoidance of embarrassment as is experienced by many after having disturbed others by shouting in a fit of anger.
My investigation has disclosed devices for use on telephones intended to convey sound waves to the phone pick-up device while otherwise limiting sound propagation. Such devices are disclosed in the following patents: Clarke, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,004,995; Cohane, 1,444,494; Alford et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,390,488; and Veneklasen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,456,346. My device is intended to eliminate all propagation from the cup to the extent that such is practical. Another sound muffling device is disclosed in Gerlach, U.S. Pat. No. 1,776,584, entitled Vocalizing Muffler. The Gerlach device is a hollow bent tube, mounted on a floor stand. One desiring to practice singing sings into the upper end of the tube. There are baffles in the tube, and the tube terminates in an open bottom. Here, it seems, the objective is to reduce rather than to eliminate propagation. Karns, U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,816, discloses an audio training device which is intended for vocal exercise without disturbing others. A sound isolation chamber receives the sound, and provides muffling, while an amplifier is connected to the chamber, and also to earphones worn by the person using the device. Finally, Strobach, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,657,609, discloses a sound isolation chamber designed to receive a musical instrument, for example, a saxophone. The mouthpiece of the saxophone protrudes from the chamber, so that the instrument can be played while the chamber is in place to muffle the sound generated by the instrument.